As you might know, the aim of man\u2019s\ncreation according to the divine schools is worshipping and servitude; as we\nread in the Holy Quran:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have not\ncreated the Jins and Humans except to worship me.\u201d1<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the fact is that on the path\ntoward servitude there are obstacles such as lusts and Satan\u2019s seduction. Man\nis placed in a world full of strong and deceiving desires; in every step one\nmight be caught in a trap, and in every thought or look one might face a new\nthreat, as is mentioned by the Quran: Beautified for mankind is love of the\njoys (that come) from women and offspring; and stored-up heaps of gold and\nsilver, and horses branded (with their mark), and cattle and land. That is\ncomfort of the life of the world. Allah! With Him is a more excellent goal in\nlife.2<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other hand Satan, the eternal\nand sworn enemy of man who explicitly has announced his decision for the\ndebauchment of all the humans, saying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said: “Because you have thrown\nme out of the way, lo! I will lie in wait for them on Your straightway;<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then will I assault them from before\nthem and behind them, from their right and their left: Nor will You find, in\nmost of them, gratitude (for Your mercies) 3<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Therefore we humans are prone to\ndanger by our desire-ridden selves and the deceiving Satan, and confronting\nthese two factors, which are obstacle to servitude, we need remedy and\nstrategy4. In this respect the followers of the Imams (PBUT) always sought\nremedy. For example, we can point to a man who wrote a letter to Imam Javad\n(PBUH) and complained about the seductions that came to his head. Imam Javad\n(PBUH) wrote in response:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTruly if the\nAlmighty Allah wills He will protect you and will not allow for the domination\nof Satan upon you. Some complained to the prophet from the seductions that\npassed through their hearts so that they preferred if the wind would blow them\naway or be torn to pieces rather than speaking out those seductions. The\nProphet of Allah (PBUH&HP) said: Did you understand this (that the\nseductions are heavy for you)? They said: Yes. He replied: I swear to the one\nwho holds my life, this is in fact the pure faith. So whenever you experienced\nthese seductions say: we believed in Allah (SWT) and his Prophet, and there is\nno obstacle (to sin) and no ability (to obey) except from Allah.\u201d5<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such spontaneous temptations are\nunfavorable as they are mutually exclusive with our faith. In such case one\nmust recourse to Allah and like other times one must have vigilance on practicing\nthe duties and not fall short of them. Taking into account the advice of Imam\nJavad (PBUH) one of the solutions that the Imams (PBUT) have introduced for\nconfronting the dangers of life, is to recourse to Allah\u2019s infinite power. If\nman comes across a wild animal he will look for an escape or a mean to reach\nsecurity; confronting the wild animal is not a solution. The wisdom for\nrecourse to Allah is the same; one must recourse to the Almighty Allah against\nthe Satan\u2019s attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other words, for overcoming the\nobstacles to servitude in the ups and downs of life, having faith in Allah and\nHis prophet and the oath of servitude and recourse to Allah and asking help\nfrom Allah is prudent, for all power and determination comes from Him, and it\nis Him who is the absolute able.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, we should emphasis that this\nsolution, like other solutions, needs vigilance and continuity and probable\nfailures must not make the seeker desperate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Selection taken from the book The\nGuiders to the Path of Light, Life of Imam Mohammad Taqi (PBUH) by Ayatullah\nSayyed Mohammad Taqi Modarrasi (with minor changes)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Roshd Website offers condolences\nto all Muslims, especially you dear friend, upon the<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last day of Dhi al-Qa\u2019da, the\nanniversary of the martyrdom of<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Leader of the pious, the ninth\nImam,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imam Muhammad ibn Ali al-Jawad (PBUH).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Footnotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Holy Quran,\n51:56<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Holy Quran,\n3:14<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Holy Quran,\n7:16-17<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Obstacles in\nfront of mankind is rooted from wisdom that essentially examines one\u2019s\ncapabilities and provides the ground for growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Usool Kafi,\nVol. 4, Baab Waswasa (Tempations), Narration# 4<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As you might know, the aim of man\u2019s creation according to the divine schools is worshipping and servitude; as we read in the Holy Quran: \u201cI have not created the Jins and Humans except to worship me.\u201d1 But the fact is that on the path toward servitude there are obstacles such as lusts and Satan\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28248],"tags":[22857,18131,17940,22663,22858,18418,17943,22856,19695],"class_list":["post-4609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-occasional-letters","tag-2016-09-03","tag-holy","tag-human","tag-imam-jawad","tag-jins","tag-occasion-letters","tag-quran","tag-the-oath-of-servitude","tag-worship"],"yoast_head":"\n